Women Winemakers of Some Good Wine

This Women’s History Month, we want to celebrate some of the amazing women winemakers that make this store possible 👑 As pioneers in their industry, they have paved the way for many more to come 🙌

Very limited, special release that––I am told––is drinking phenomenally right now! 
2009 La Stoppa Vigna della Volta Passito - $73.99
Made from 95% Malvasia di Candia Aromatica and 5% Moscato, this wine is made from sun-dried grapes that are pressed in a vertical press, fermented naturally, and put into old French oak barrique for 10 months. After bottling, the wine is held for an additional two years before release. The name comes from the vineyard, which in turn comes from the name of the sharecropper that maintained this site for many years. The vines are 30-50 years old.

Arianna Occhipinti discusses that "it is a natural wine as I think about myself, that's how I am. It comes from my sensibility towards true things and from my Gestures, my loving attentions. A wine that, in its harmonies and roughness, talks about the land where it comes from and also about me. That's why I think that the natural wine, besides being a good wine is also a human wine."

2016 Arianna Occhipinti Frappato - $44.99
Frappato is the grape here, normally used to blend with the more famous Etna Rosso. One of the only single varietal Frappatos in existence. Gorgeous, Pinot Noir like structure with smokey girth, fleshy earth and wild, explosive tannins like sucking on a raspberry fire pit. 
2016 Arianna Occhipinti Siccagno Nero d`Avola IGT Terre Siciliane - $48.99
From the same area as the Frappato. 100% Nero here, with some of the same bright fruit in the Frappato. Difference here is you get more of that crusty earth sensation and muscular grit one sees with Nero. Incredibly medium bodied fatness and acidic precision. 
2017 Arianna Occhipinti SP68 IGT Bianco - $29.99
A blend of native grapes Zibbibo and Albanello. Super fresh, vibrant and a great alternative for those bored with Sancerre.

Tracey Brandt from Donkey & Goat learned her craft in France training under Éric Texier, an up-and-coming Rhône winemaker who taught them the art and craft of making wines that speak to the soul about the earth from which they originate.

2013 Donkey & Goat Syrah - on sale! $26.99
These Syrah vines grow on a hilltop in the remote Mendocino Ridge only a few miles from the Pacific, among the beautiful Redwoods and wildlife. Of the three vineyard designate Syrahs, Perli is the most voluptuous as the vines sit above the fog line. But fear not, this is still a textbook Donkey & Goat with tension and subtlety and most importantly, food friendly! 
2016 Donkey & Goat Eliza, Barsotti Vineyard - $41.99
Eliza is a wonderful mix of Clairette, Picpoul, Roussanne, and Grenache Blanc. Her notes of white peaches, apricots and golden delicious apples are just as exciting as the varietals itself. It has a bit of body that we think you’ll love, influenced by its salinity and with nutty notes of cashew, marzipan. 
2016 Donkey & Goat The Bear - $37.99
The Bear, a name in itself, has a nose of wild blackberry and strawberry balanced with nutmeg and allspice. The sweetness of this wine is a bit edgy, crafting a savory fee; with a touch of salinity and earthy tones.

Aslina Wines is the realisation of a dream for South Africa’s first black woman winemaker, Ntsiki Biyela.  Started in 2016, the Aslina brand is named after Ntsiki’s grandmother, whose care and guidance provided her with the inspiration and vision to succeed in creating award winning wine. 

2018 Aslina Sauvignon Blanc - $19.99
This sauvignon blanc is delicious and crisp, so we will cheers to you, Ntsiki Biyela!